


Nightmarish

by CosmicCove



Category: Anime Campaign! (Web Series)
Genre: Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN AC EPISODE 6B DON'T READ, Light Angst, Nightmares, very big spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:55:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23534170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmicCove/pseuds/CosmicCove
Summary: @perrythedeer and @randomguygoesviral has an AU where Rick and Sylvie are brothers and Doc Chappy takes care of them after the events of AC and it's Very Good, so I wrote something for it.-----How do you get past the guilt of almost killing your friends?  How do you get past the guilt of the first friend you tried to kill being the closest person to you?
Relationships: Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling & Rick Shades
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	Nightmarish

**Author's Note:**

  * For [perrythedeer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/perrythedeer/gifts).



Sylvie was bundled up in blankets, sleepily looking up at the ceiling, wanting to sleep but not allowing himself to. He was certain he was the only one still awake in the house, which was an uncommon occurrence before the whole mess with Bliss Ocean, but he found it happening more and more frequently ever since. He couldn’t shake the feeling of becoming his failures. Failing was his greatest fear, and now that he had let it overcome him once before, he now had a near-equally large fear of it overcoming him again. He closed his eyes, trying his hardest not to think about it, which only made it impossible to ignore. 

He opened his eyes again, except now he didn’t see his ceiling anymore. He only saw darkness above him, and below him, he saw metal. This was the top of a train car. No. He knew where he was, and what he was. It was that moment, that horrible, horrible moment, when he had become a monster of his own fears and shortcomings. And now he had to relive it. God, he hated nightmares. 

When he had originally turned into the scorpion creature, he could feel much of anything. He could feel anger, and he could feel hurt, but he couldn’t feel other emotions. Now that he was dreaming, he had a full range of emotion while being trapped in the scorpion of his fear, which was an abysmal experience. He couldn’t control it, either. It was a memory, after all, and he couldn’t change the past. It doesn’t stop him from trying, however in vain, to make the monster disappear or to weaken its attacks. 

He could see the flickering in the mirror that was the monster’s face as it rolled through its options. He grimaced as the scorpion monster he had once been considered. The fractures of glass gleamed with fleeting images of Phoenica, Molly, Abby… Rick. The glimpses of reflections gathered into a clear image of Rick. Sylvie never understood it. Why did he ever want to hurt his best friend? 

In one swift movement, the fear scorpion was already looming over Rick, no matter what Sylvie did within the monster to stop it. The monster swiped once, grazing its spiky claws over only shadow, something that flooded Sylvie with relief every time it happened. Its tail lashed out, just barely missing. Sylvie knew what came next. He tried so hard to change something, to make what happened next stop before it started. 

The scorpion’s mirror face looked down upon Rick. The fragmented reflection of Rick etched in the mirror was just barely unaligned with Rick’s true reflection, making a mess of images. Rick looked back up at it, determination and fear in his eyes. The scorpion brought down its stinger again, stabbing it into Rick’s arm. Just as the collision hit, Sylvie bolted upright. 

He buried his face in his hands. He had that dream again. Of course he knew that it wasn’t uncommon for people who had gone through a traumatic experience to have nightmares about the experience, reliving their memories. And of course, it had to happen to him, who was a lucid dreamer by default, so that every moment he was aware of what was happening yet completely powerless to stop it. 

Sylvie took in deep breaths. It was what he did when he had nightmares. Usually it helped, but he could feel his eyes sting as he felt warm tears smearing into his hands. He moved his hands from his face, feeling them tremble as the tears now slid down his cheeks. He got out of his bed. It felt childish to be so shaken by a dream, but he didn’t want to be alone now. 

Sylvie swore up and down that he had never once been afraid of the dark, but it sure did remind him of the void of the moot realm. He pushed down the feeling of dread the darkness made him feel, and made his way through the hallway to the room next door. He walked over to the bed, and lifted a hand to give the sleeping figure on it a little shove awake. Sylvie hesitated a moment. He really didn’t want to be a bother, and this seemed incredibly silly to him, but the thought of going back to his room all alone made it feel like his insides were twisting up. 

“Rick?” Sylvie called in barely a whisper, giving the man a small shake. 

Rick looked up sleepily. “Sylvie?” 

Sylvie stared for a moment, trying to compose himself and thinking of what to say. “I’m sorry, Rick, I-” he started, hoping he didn’t sound like he was crying. 

“You’re crying,” Rick stated, immediately sitting up and wiping Sylvie's tears away gently. 

“I- Oh. Yes, well-” Sylvie sniffled. 

“What happened?” 

Sylvie paused. It still seemed a little silly to him that he was all shaken up over a dream. He took a deep breath, then answered, “Oh, it’s no big deal. I had a nightmare, and I let things get carried away I guess.” 

Rick pulled Sylvie into a hug so quickly it caught him off guard. 

“Rick, it’s okay. Honest!” Sylvie assured him, the trembling in his voice defying his words. 

There was a pause. “Sylvie, it’s okay to not be okay. You know that, right?” Rick pointed out. 

“I just think-” Sylvie began, but he didn’t finish the statement. He knew that Rick saw right through him when he dismissed his problems, so he would just be honest. “Yes, I know.” 

“Do you want to talk about it?” 

Sylvie took a breath to say no, but then thought better of it. “Yes.” 

Rick scooted over and patted the spot next to him, inviting Sylvie to sit down next to him. Sylvie did so, feeling oddly like the way he thought his patient felt during their therapy sessions. Sylvie took a moment to just breathe, feeling very uneasy. 

“You remember the moot realm?” Sylvie asked. 

Rick felt fear, uncomfortably warm and sickly, shooting through him. He didn’t show it, though. He needed to be there for Sylvie. He nodded yes. 

“I keep having dreams, or nightmares, I guess, about it. Well, about me, actually, I guess. That thing I turned into.” 

Rick hand reflexively made its way to his arm upon remembering the scorpion monster, rubbing where it had stung him. He hoped that Sylvie didn’t notice. 

“I feel so bad,” Sylvie continued, “I let my fear control me and my friends got hurt.” 

“You were going through some things. You were all alone with no one to help you,” Rick pointed out. 

Sylvie shook his head. “It’s no excuse.” 

Rick tried to think of a way to protest, but could not think of anything he could say that he knew could convince Sylvie. The boy was just too stubborn and too smart to be swayed from a certain way of thinking. At least, not without a lot of talking through it. Instead of arguing, Rick decided to point out, “You know, I did a lot of things that I’m not proud of too.” 

Sylvie looked up at him. “You did?” 

“Yeah,” Rick continued, “A big one is leaving you there in the Moot Realm all by yourself.” 

“But you couldn’t have known!” Sylvie argued, “You thought I had died. You had no idea that the Moot Realm even existed!” 

“It still doesn’t sit right with me,” Rick argued back softly but firmly, “There was no proof, really. As long as there was a chance you were alive, I should have been looking for you. I should have tried to find you. I know I could have saved you if I just had a little faith-” 

“Rick,” Sylvie cut him off, about to argue more, but then realizing that there was no use. Rick could be equally as stubborn when he wanted to be. It made Sylvie quietly laugh, in spite of the situation, a hint of bitterness in the laughter. “It’s so awful to think about. You always cared about me the most, and I…” he trailed off. 

“You know I don’t hold it against you,” Rick reminded him. 

“I don’t feel like I deserve that,” Sylvie admitted. 

Rick gave Sylvie another hug, and Sylvie leaned into it. Sylvie hadn’t realized just how frightened he was until he felt relief flooding him. “I think you deserve it,” Rick told him. 

Sylvie buried his head into Rick’s shoulder. “Hey Rick?” he asked softly. 

“Yes?” 

“I don’t want to be on my own tonight.” 

A small smile appeared on Rick’s face. “You can sleep in here tonight.” 

“Thank you,” Sylvie peeped.

**Author's Note:**

> Perry, this was fun to write, and I hope you liked it!


End file.
